Summary
The daughter and widow of Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy, murdered at his Andhra Pradesh home in March 2019, sought transfer of the CBI case from the Special Court, Kadapa. The Supreme Court found their fear of an unfair trial and investigation reasonable, not imaginary. The CBI's further investigation into the larger conspiracy had stalled after an FIR was lodged against its officers. Two key witnesses needed police protection, one witness stopped coming forward once reinstated, and another died in mysterious circumstances after first volunteering a Section 164 statement. Victims are entitled to a fair trial, which is part of Article 21. Given the 250-odd witnesses, the Court sent the trial to the CBI Special Court, Hyderabad rather than Delhi, and directed the CBI to finish the further investigation promptly and independently.
Issues
- Whether the victims' apprehension that the murder trial and further investigation could not be fair in Andhra Pradesh was reasonable enough to warrant transfer of the trial outside the State.
Provisions considered
- Articles 21 and 32, Constitution of IndiaA free and fair trial is a sine qua non of Article 21; the victims' writ petition for transfer was allowed on a reasonable apprehension that justice would not be done. (¶¶ 13, 14, 15)
- Section 406, Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973Transfer requires a reasonable, not imaginary, apprehension of an unfair trial (Abdul Nazar Madani, Amarinder Singh); convenience of witnesses is also relevant. (¶¶ 7, 8)
Held
- For transfer of a criminal case the apprehension that justice will not be done must be reasonable and not imaginary or based on conjecture; justice must also be seen to be done, and convenience of witnesses is relevant. (¶¶ 7, 8)
- The stalling of the CBI's further investigation after an FIR against its officers, the protection granted to two key witnesses, the non-appearance of a reinstated witness, and the mysterious death of a witness who had volunteered a Section 164 statement made the victims' apprehension reasonable. (¶¶ 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
- The victims have a fundamental right to justice and a legitimate expectation of a fair trial; having regard to the large number of witnesses, the trial is transferred to Hyderabad rather than Delhi. (¶¶ 13, 14)
Result
Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 169 of 2022 allowed; the trial in RC-04(S)/2020/CBI/SC-III/New Delhi transferred from the CBI Special Court, Kadapa to the CBI Special Court, Hyderabad with all papers, and the CBI directed to complete the further investigation into the larger conspiracy and destruction of evidence at the earliest, independently and without bias.